Specialty Crop Block Grant

Grants fund projects that will increase the competitiveness of Minnesota grown specialty crops in domestic and foreign markets. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines specialty crops as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, floriculture, and processed products that have 50 percent or more specialty crop content, by weight; exclusive of added water. A comprehensive list of eligible specialty crops is available on the USDA's web site.

Applicant Eligibility

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) encourages the following groups to apply for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP):

• non-profit organizations
• producer organizations
• government agencies
• universities
• other agricultural groups

For-profit entities, farms, and other businesses who want to develop sector-wide research and development projects are also eligible.

Project Eligibility

Projects must enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops that are grown in Minnesota by:

• Leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops;
• Assisting producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops;
• Expanding availability and access to specialty crops; and
• Addressing local and regional challenges confronting specialty crop producers.

A specialty crop is defined by the USDA. This program cannot fund starting a business or expanding a farm. Each project must demonstrate external support from specialty crop stakeholders and produce measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and/or public beneficiaries. Projects that address problems or opportunities that cross state boundaries are eligible.

Visit the USDA's SCBGP Awarded Grants page to see previously funded projects in Minnesota and across the country.

Funding Priorities

Minnesota will be seeking projects for our 2021 SCBG that pertain to the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:

• Improve distribution systems and marketing of specialty crops, such as reducing costs, increasing promotion, or creating new methods to achieve and sustain profitable businesses.
• Increase child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops.
• Research on and development of techniques that focus on pest or disease control.
• Develop new or improved specialty crop seed or plant varieties.
• Research and develop techniques to increase sustainable production of specialty crops including season extension and environmental outcomes, such as adaption to drought and floods and increasing soil health.
• Improve capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, for example, developing “Good Agricultural Practices,” “Good Handling Practices,” “Good Manufacturing Practices,” and other support for farmers, packers, and processors to enhance food safety.

Projects that benefit beginning farmers will receive up to two points. A Beginning Farmer is an individual or entity that has not operated a farm or ranch for more than ten years and substantially participates in the operation.

Projects that benefit Emerging Farmers will receive up to five points. The USDA tracks projects that benefit Socially Disadvantaged farmers as defined in the USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 2020 SCBGP Request for Applications (PDF). This definition includes Emerging Farmers, such as Native American producers, immigrant farmers, farmers of color, and women.

Priority for COVID relief SCBG funding will be for projects designed to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on specialty crop producers and specialty crop food supply chain. This priority will be given according to the requirements the USDA places on the COVID-19 relief funds.

Planning for Next Year (2022)

New for FFY2022: USDA-AMS grant programs have updated performance measures to better track accomplishments and impacts while reducing the burden on applicants and recipients.

We are also seeking input on project priorities for the next Request for Proposals (RFP). Your suggestions will be used to help improve the competitive review process. Please submit comments to Ann Kuzj by December 8, 2021, for consideration for FFY2022 SCBG RFP.

For more information, refer to the Funding Purpose in section 1.2 and the list of Project Types in section 1.3 of the USDA-AMS 2020 SCBGP Request for Applications or read the 2021 Minnesota SCBG Request for Proposals (PDF).

Amounts Available

Applicants may request a grant award of at least $20,000 up to a maximum of $150,000 per project that spans up to 2.5 years.

Applying

The 2021 application period is closed. Details on this page apply to the 2021 round of funding. Check back in late December/early January 2022 when the next application period opens and we post updated grant details.

To learn more about how the program works, read last year's Request for Proposals (revised to include COVID-19 relief funds). This grant program is subject to change so you should read the updated RFP when it's posted. If you need this information in an alternative format, please contact the program administrator.

We encourage you to read the Question and Answer (Q&A) page and view previous project descriptions on the Past Projects page.